Multimedia

The Machines

Injection Mold Machine

Shredder

Our First Mold Injection

2021-01-10 inject.mov

Initial use of the injection molder

The plastic is melted in the barrel at 450ºF. Personal protective equipement (PPE) includes heat resistant gloves, face shield, sturdy long-sleeve shirt, sturdy long pants, and closed-toed shoes.

Molded fish head from HDPE milk jugs

Molded from LDPE perler beads

Force Sensor and Mathematical Model Testing

Mathematical model using MATLAB to plot the position of each component of the machine as well as calculate the output forces using the virtual work method.

Added a hook to run baseline force measurements and calibrations.

Straps are modified to hang the load cell from the lever.

Load cell is hung from handle, with known weights, for calibration. The error between the load cell reading and the known weight was only 0.07%.

Load cell is placed under barrel with extension rod to transfer plunger force directly to load cell.

The output force is measured by the load cell and compared to our mathematical model.

Results

The static measurement was taken at a lever angle of -12º from horzontal. The load cell reading for the output force was was 136.1 lbf. The MATLAB model gave a reading of 144.1 lbf. That results in a 6% error between the MATLAB model and the load cell measurement.

Full Multimedia Files

Below are a full list of our multimedia files:

Pictures

Videos

CAD Files

Mechanical Drawings

Code

Overview

injector: Arduino script to log force, pitch, and temperature data.
Injector Model: MATLAB model showing position of each injector component in space, calculating virtual work, forces, displacements, mechanical advantage, and hinge angles. Part lengths are easily modifiable for optimization. All files and folders must be copied to the same place in order for script to work. Script requires classes and output folders.
sensorpkg.m: MATLAB script which visualzes injector Arduino data stream. Plots graphs of plunger force, plunger depth, and plastic temperature in realtime, while also displaying a stopwatch for elapsed time and a realtime plunger depth monitor.

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